“I haven’t been able to afford the move to Rio yet,” Forte told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “But Team Nogueira is giving me every possible means of assistance to allow me to remain in Rio. Hopefully after this fight, I’ll be able to manage things on my own.”

Forte, who hails from Fortaleza and lives with his brother, has had a bumpy career as of late. Although he earned a spot on the inaugural international season of “TUF,” he said he sustained several injuries against opponent Fabio Luiz Vital da Costa and wasn’t ready to meet Daniel Sarafian, who submitted him in the opening round of the reality-show tournament.

When Sarafian was forced to withdraw from the finals due to injury, he was left without an opponent since Moraes stepped in to meet finalist Cezar Ferreira at UFC 147.

“Roughly four days before the event, my manager called saying that my fight against Moraes was canceled,” Forte said. “I was sad since I had already put in all the work for that fight. I even came down from my home town to Rio de Janeiro to train with Team Nogueira.”

Despite not fighting at the event, the UFC awarded him his show money and offered him a spot on UFC 153, which takes place Saturday at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Moraes, who lost a decision to Ferreira in the finals of “TUF: Brazil,” hopes to get back on track in the FX-televised preliminary-card bout.

Nogueira, too, is looking for redemption. He meets Dave Herman on the PPV main card of Saturday’s event.

Forte, meanwhile, has put his life on hold to find victory in the octagon.

“I teach jiu-jitsu, though currently that’s on hold so I could train for my upcoming fight; that’s the most important fight of my life,” he said. “I want to be able to live 100 percent off my fights in one of the biggest promotions. It’s been my dream since I was young.”

But to do that, he knows he needs to leave a better impression than the one left during his stint on the reality show.

“Unfortunately, the last image in people’s minds was me being submitted,” he said. “Something was lacking. Now I promise to show who I really am. I’m fully healthy now.”

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.